An eSIM for Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania: Vodacom, Yas, Airtel or Halotel?

Part of our Tanzania eSIM guide: all articles and key facts →

An eSIM for Zanzibar and Tanzania is one and the same product: Zanzibar runs on the Tanzanian networks, so a Tanzania plan works on the islands and a "Zanzibar eSIM" works on the mainland. What changes from one eSIM to another is the network it uses, Vodacom, Yas, Airtel or Halotel, and that choice matters more on Zanzibar than the brand. We read five providers on 16 October 2026.

Does a Tanzania eSIM work in Zanzibar?

Yes: Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, its mobile networks are the Tanzanian ones, and the providers we read sell one plan for both. Zanzibar is "a Tanzanian semi-autonomous region", made up of two large islands, Unguja and Pemba, and many small ones, according to Wikipedia. Its capital, Zanzibar City, includes Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The regulator, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), counts Zanzibar's five regions in the same national tables as the mainland in its report for the quarter ending June 2026, with the same operators. It recorded 281 4G base stations and 130 5G base stations in Mjini Magharibi, the region of Zanzibar City.

The eSIM sellers confirm it. Airalo's Tanzania plan states that it "covers mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar". Holafly sells a page called "eSIM for Zanzibar" at exactly the prices of its Tanzania eSIM, on the same network, and says you can "stay connected when traveling to other destinations across the country without switching eSIMs". So compare Tanzania plans, whichever name they carry.

Which eSIMs work in Zanzibar and Tanzania, and on which network?

The five providers we read use four different networks: Holafly uses Vodacom, Airalo Halotel and Airtel, Nomad names Zantel and tiGO (now Yas), and aloSIM Airtel. All figures below were read on the providers' own pages on 16 October 2026, in the currency each page displayed.

Unlimited prices by length show where each provider wins. Holafly sells any length from 1 to 90 days, Airalo six lengths from 3 to 30 days, and Yesim only 1, 7 and 15 days for Tanzania.

All three sit well below the market. The comparison database esimdb listed 8,305 plans from 229 providers covering Tanzania on 16 October 2026; among Tanzania-only plans with at least 1 GB a day at full speed, the median cost €47.28 for 7 days and €63.94 for 10 days. aloSIM's unlimited plans, priced in dollars on its page ($36.50 for 7 days), appear in euros on esimdb at €34 for 7 days and €36 for 10 days, just above Airalo. Saily also sells Tanzania plans but blocked automated reading of its page, so we leave it out.

Airalo or Holafly for unlimited data in Zanzibar?

Airalo is cheaper at every length from 3 to 30 days, while Holafly puts you on Vodacom, which measured faster than Halotel on Unguja. The price gap is small on a short stay, €1 on a week and €2.90 on 10 days, and grows on longer ones, €6.50 on 15 days and €14.50 on a month.

The trade-offs sit in the small print. Airalo's unlimited plans slow to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day, a rule printed on its page. Holafly publishes no daily full-speed figure, limits hotspot sharing to 1 GB a day, and adds a monthly 1 GB backup allowance it calls "Always On". Neither includes a Tanzanian phone number.

The network is the bigger difference. In the TCRA's measurements on Unguja for the quarter ending June 2026, average downloads were 19.2 Mbps on Yas, 16.9 Mbps on Vodacom, 15.2 Mbps on TTCL and 10.0 Mbps on Halotel. Latency told the same story: 48.7 ms on Vodacom and 49.5 ms on Yas, against 56.5 ms on Halotel and 78.1 ms on Airtel. The TCRA published no Airtel download figure for Unguja.

For a beach week, 10 Mbps is enough for maps, messages and video calls. If you upload a lot of video or work from the island, Holafly's Vodacom line is the safer of the two on these measurements, for about €1 more a week.

Vodacom, Yas, Airtel or Halotel: which network is best on Zanzibar?

Yas and Vodacom were the fastest networks measured on both Zanzibar islands; on nPerf's maps, Yas shows the most 5G tests in Zanzibar City. Tanzania has five mobile operators in the TCRA's tables. In June 2026, Vodacom Tanzania had 33.0% of subscriptions, Yas 28.6%, Airtel Tanzania 20.5%, Halotel 16.4% and the state-owned TTCL 1.5%, out of 116.95 million.

Yas is the new name of Tigo. Its own company page describes "Yas Tanzania (formerly Tigo Tanzania)" and says "Tigo Tanzania is now Yas Tanzania, an Axian Telecom company". That is why some eSIM sellers still print "tiGO": Nomad's Tanzania page names "Zantel / tiGO". Zantel does not appear as a separate operator in the TCRA's June 2026 tables.

On Pemba, the second island, the TCRA measured 18.4 Mbps on Vodacom, 17.6 on Yas, 11.9 on TTCL, 11.5 on Halotel and 8.2 on Airtel. Across all 22 areas it measured, the national average was 14.26 Mbps, so both Zanzibar islands sit around or above the national level on Vodacom and Yas.

nPerf's crowdsourced maps, viewed on 16 October 2026, show where users of its app ran tests rather than guaranteed coverage. Around Stone Town, Yas had a dense web of 5G tests across the city and along the roads north, Vodacom had mostly 4G and 4G+ tests with some 5G stretches in the city, and Airtel showed mostly 4G and 4G+ with very few 5G points.

Is there coverage on Zanzibar's beaches?

Where users have tested along the east coast road, all three networks we checked showed 4G or better; around Jambiani itself tests are sparse, and in the forest and at sea, expect gaps. Holafly's Zanzibar page says you will have "a great connection in areas such as Stone Town, Nungwi, Kendwa, Paje, and Jambiani, subject to local network availability", and warns that coverage "may be weaker or less stable" at "certain points in Jozani Forest and during boat trips away from the coast".

The user tests on nPerf's map of the south-east coast, viewed on 16 October 2026, only partly match that picture. North of the junction with the road across the island, Yas showed 5G and 3G tests along the coast road, Vodacom continuous 4G and 4G+ tests on the coast road and on the road across the island, and Airtel 4G and 4G+ tests. South of that junction, towards Jambiani, the map shows few tests: scattered 4G points on Airtel with one point without coverage, a couple of points on Yas and none on Vodacom in that view. Fewer tests reflect where people tested as much as where the signal reaches.

For a day trip by boat, download offline maps and any tickets before you leave the shore. On the mainland, the same networks cover the safari circuit very unevenly; our guide to one eSIM or two for a Kenya and Tanzania safari sets out what is measured in the Serengeti and at Ngorongoro.

Does the same eSIM cover the safari circuit and Kilimanjaro?

Yes, the same Tanzania plan works on the mainland, but coverage outside towns is far thinner than on Zanzibar's coast roads. The TCRA put 4G coverage at 94.39% of the population in June 2026 but only 77.53% of the territory, and 5G at 34.18% of the population and 11.34% of the territory. In other words, more than a fifth of Tanzania's territory had no 4G coverage in the regulator's figures, even though it reached 94.39% of the population.

The regulator's speed measurements also cover the mainland gateways. In Arusha, average downloads were 17.6 Mbps on Airtel, 16.3 on TTCL, 12.7 on Vodacom, 12.2 on Halotel and 11.2 on Yas; in the Kilimanjaro region, Yas led with 18.5 Mbps, ahead of Halotel at 13.5, Vodacom at 12.7 and Airtel at 11.4. The order of the networks is not the same as on Zanzibar, so no single network wins everywhere in Tanzania.

Holafly's Tanzania page is frank about the parks: coverage "may be weaker, less stable, or unavailable in nature reserves, mountainous regions, and on safari routes far from major towns", naming "certain parts of the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the routes up Mount Kilimanjaro". If your trip combines a safari with the beach, plan for offline maps on the mainland and a reliable signal on the islands.

A trip that starts in Kenya needs a second line or a regional plan, because Tanzania plans list Tanzania only. Airalo's Africa Safari plan covers Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and Holafly's Africa plan covers 28 countries including both; our guide to a Kenya and Tanzania safari eSIM compares them with two country plans, trip by trip.

Which fixed-data plan is cheapest for Tanzania?

Nomad was the cheapest verified fixed plan at every size we compared, with 10 GB valid 30 days for €16.95. Tanzania data is cheap compared with its neighbours: the same Nomad allowance cost €33.02 in Kenya on the same day.

Nomad also sells 5 GB for €11.60, and Nomad's FAQ says its eSIMs support hotspot use. Airalo's shorter plans fill the gap below: 3 GB valid 7 days for €10.50 or 5 GB valid 15 days for €14. aloSIM's page says no ID is required and adds a free international phone number from the app Hushed, not a Tanzanian number.

Is a local Yas or Vodacom SIM cheaper?

Yes, per gigabyte, but you need a shop or registration agent with your passport (and visa, unless you are visa-exempt), and your fingerprints are taken. Yas publishes its data packs online, bought by dialling *147*00#. The Bank of Tanzania's rate on 16 October 2026 was about TSh 2,951 to the euro.

The prices are low: 7.2 GB for about €5 compares with €10.50 for 3 GB at Airalo or €34.50 for an unlimited week at Holafly. The Yas data packs page says each pack works on "3G/4G/5G network everywhere in Tanzania".

Registration is the catch. Vodacom's SIM registration page says a visitor, a non-citizen staying up to four months, "shall be required to present certified copies of valid passports with valid visa", that visa-exempt visitors present "a certified copy of valid passport", and that "fingerprints of the foreigner will be taken for verification with the immigration". We found no readable tourist offer on Vodacom's or Airtel's websites, and no operator page we read describes a sales point at Zanzibar's airport, so plan on a shop in town.

What should you sort out before landing in Zanzibar?

Install the eSIM at home, check your phone is unlocked, and turn data roaming on for the eSIM line when you land. Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, on Unguja, lies about 5 km south of Zanzibar City, so a working line on landing helps with a map or a ride into Stone Town.

• eSIM support: find your model on our list of eSIM-compatible phones, for example the iPhone 17 range or the Pixel 10 range.
• Unlocked: a phone locked to your home operator will refuse a Tanzanian profile. Read do you need an unlocked phone for a travel eSIM.
• Installation: follow our step-by-step eSIM activation guide, and keep your EID number at hand if the seller asks for it.

The plans we read start in Tanzania, not at installation: Airalo's policy is "first-usage", Nomad's plans can be activated within 60 days of purchase, Yesim's validity begins on connection to a compatible network, and Holafly says to set up the eSIM before departure. If the line stays on "Activating", see our fixes for an eSIM stuck on activating. Coming from a Kenya safari? Our best eSIM for Kenya guide covers the first half of the trip.

How we compared

We read each provider's Tanzania page, and Holafly's Zanzibar page, on 16 October 2026, and recorded price, validity, data, network, start of validity and hotspot rule. Market medians come from the esimdb database, using Tanzania-only plans with at least 1 GB a day at full speed, promotions included, and dollar prices converted at the European Central Bank rate of 15 October 2026 for the medians only.

Network shares, coverage and speed measurements come from the TCRA's report for the quarter ending June 2026; on-the-ground readings come from nPerf's crowdsourced maps. Local data packs come from Yas's own page and registration rules from Vodacom's. We did not buy the plans or measure speeds in Tanzania. Prices change often, so check the provider's page before you buy.